Chapter 247
Looking at the diplomatic report sent back by Peter, Mircea became more and more contemptuous of the so-called West. At the same time, he also secretly cursed the emperor of the Angelus dynasty. I originally thought that Western Europeans were too bad, but I didn't expect that the Roman emperor was worse than Western Europe. It was not surprising that Constantinople was captured.
As for what some people say about Western Europe far surpassing Rome, in fact, it is those Italian countries that surpass them in economic and trade technology. It is still the same in other places, and culture is beyond their reach.
Since Rome's economy is not good, let them see what a trade center is. It was the emperor's duty to revive the Roman economy.
Thanks to the recapture of Nicaea and three other cities, Constantinople was temporarily out of danger. The development of industry and commerce is more prosperous. Whether it is old industrial and commercial cities such as Thessaloniki and Smyrna, or emerging cities such as Bukur Yesti, Constanta, and Iasi, commerce is booming. The expansion of Hungary and Ukraine brought land, people, and markets, and the trading system was re-established.
"Your Majesty, the Governor of Anatolia wants the Empire to send troops to defend against the Ottomans."
"That's right, Anatolia must be recovered. Too much time has been lost in this place."
Mircea sat on it, it was his duty to recover the lost territory and spread the gospel, and he would never compromise in the face of the infidels. But he encountered a problem faced by all rulers: how to get more money.
Taxes would not rise much at once, and Mircea would not raise taxes that would threaten his throne. An incident in Constantinople not long ago opened his mind.
Three merchant ships from the East brought spices and luxury goods for sale in Constantinople. The small amount of goods earned nearly 80,000 gold coins, which made many people jealous. Since you are short of money, just explore the most profitable business route yourself.
Mircea directly found the owners of those merchant ships. When he heard that the great Basilius was summoning him, how could he not disobey him? He quickly revealed his trade in East Africa and explained the affairs of the colony.
"Bypass Egypt and go to the east." Mircea thought carefully, and combined with a huge fleet in the castle a few days ago, he instantly understood who did it. Maintaining such a large fleet required a large amount of funds and countless connections. Apart from him, the emperor, only Peter had these two conditions.
"This kid is really not simple." Mircea said with a smile.
I was surprised by Peter's courage, and he also provided new ideas for government finance. The spice trade was done in Venice but not in Rome?
Mircea needs to have a good talk with Peter. They are expanding and exploring and they don't have enough manpower. The Egyptians and Arabs controlled the trade routes to the East for most of the period. Alexandria, Aleppo and Damascus were known as the "Iron Curtain" at that time. Only from the second half of the 13th century to the 14th century, when the Mongol Empire of the Genghis Khan family was at its peak, did Europeans represented by Marco Polo get in touch with the "Khitan". The existing trade routes could transport valuable spices, but they had to be exploited at many levels along the way, and trade was seriously affected; this did not take into account the changing political situation and harassment by bandits. There was an urgent need to find a new trade route to the east.
Marco Polo's "Oriental Visions" unveiled the mystery of the East to Western Europeans for the first time, and also initially revealed to the world the possibility of opening up new shipping routes. After him, many Westerners came over thousands of mountains and rivers. In addition to adventurers, these people also included missionaries who were inspired by religion to preach the gospel to the East. The famous one is Montegovino, the Italian missionary. He traveled to Iran, India, and northern China in about 40 years from the end of the 13th century to the 1430s. During the 14th century, another Italian missionary, Odoric, traveled to Iran, India, Southeast Asia, China, Tubo and other places in the 1930s. He is the author of the book "Oriental Sketches". This book is very popular because it expresses the Eastern landforms more intuitively. It is second only to "Oriental Insights" and is the most popular introduction to the Eastern world. There are many manuscripts circulating. In the world. In addition, there was the French missionary Mari Naulny, who traveled to Central Asia in the 1450s. In addition to priests, there were also merchants and envoys who came to the East to do business and hold offices.
The adventurous spirit of businessmen is innate, and it is precisely because of this that the Polo family came to China. After them, some foreign businessmen tried to follow Marco's footsteps and make a fortune. From then on, it became the biggest dream of Europeans to explore those golden areas that produced delicious spices and exuded warm light. Therefore, the starting point of the enthusiasm for exploration of the East was the coveted heart, and all of this contributed to the magnificent Age of Discovery in the future.
----Dividing line----
Peter originally planned to stay in Paris for a month, but left after only two weeks. In addition to the residents' curiosity and disrespect for them, the city's sanitation problems were also one of the reasons. The stench was so bad that some of the guards became sick after drinking local well water. For his own safety, Peter could only bid farewell to the French Regent, leave Paris, and head to England, his last stop.
England is now ruled by Henry IV, head of the House of Lancaster, a branch of the Plantagenet dynasty, who was recognized as king last year after ousting Richard II in a coup. Because he signed a 20-year armistice agreement with France, he focused on domestic affairs at this time. Welcome to Rome.
They arrived in Calais, from where they crossed the Channel to London, the capital of England. It must have been another boring trip, just like in France, with nothing substantial going on except Auld Lang Syne. It would be better for them to stay less involved in Eastern Europe's affairs.
Of course in France, he also felt the impact of the Great Schism in the Catholic Church. The Pope in Avignon criticized the unorthodoxy of Rome, and the audience was filled with incited people. This shows how divided the Catholic world has become. Under such circumstances, the people would be fools if they did not change.
Fortunately, this is not the case for the Orthodox Church, and they can take this opportunity to expand their power. Bohemia and Italy, the areas hardest hit by Catholic corruption, were developing rapidly, and the two sides were at odds with each other.
Although the Orthodox Church does not have as much political power as the Catholic Church and does not have as much real estate as them, they can enjoy the protection of the emperor and do not have to compete with many secular rulers for power. It can be expanded when necessary, and the emperor will support the church. It's really not that exciting.
Moreover, Caesar also promised to establish a religious state in West Asia, which allowed the church to fully support the knights and religious orders, and they also wanted to spread the gospel.